Red Skies | The Prime Archives #1 ✓

fourteen

"Why the heck is Apex here, dude?" Theo asked as the group moved through the halls. "How did he even find this place?!"

Chase had no idea. He did know that things were about to get crazy.

When Agent Strong had delivered the news, he could see the fear in his eyes. He had never seen the man afraid before; he was usually too busy yelling or barking orders to be scared. But if Apex's arrival at The Acropolis was enough to strike fear into his heart, then something was wrong.

Something was terribly wrong.

"Are we being attacked?" Stella inquired as they rounded a corner towards the central elevator.

"No," Agent Strong answered from the front of the herd. "That's why this is weird. He showed up here. Alone. I've gotten reports that our security team has done a full scan of the area. There's no sign of other Kismet members for fifty miles."

Chase drew his brows together.

What is happening?

The group packed themselves into an elevator and waited for the lift to bring them to the hangar. As they were pulled deeper into the mountain The Acropolis was built into, a siren sliced through air like a knife through flesh.

Gritting his teeth, Chase pressed his hands to his ears. The others did the same. Emily seemed to be doing everything in her power to prevent herself from screaming. Had she done so, she probably would've destroyed the elevator with her supersonic vocal cords.

"It's a little too late for the sirens," she hissed.

"It's a safety measure," Agent Strong grumbled with his large hands against his ears.

The elevator chimed and the doors slid open. The seven of them left the lift and made their way to the automatic doors at the end of the hall. Through the square window in the center, Chase could see a crowd gathered inside.

Agent Strong scanned his ID card and opened the entrance to the hangar. Upon entering, Chase noticed almost everyone had their weapons drawn and pointed at the man standing in front of the gushing waterfall that covered the exit. Multiple red dots from laser sights peppered his chest.

He stood with his hands up. A crimson mask covered the lower portion of his gaunt face. His choppy hair the color of thick tar framed his angular features. At his hip hung his red sword. The insignia of Kismet—a black fist behind a single, red eye—stood out against his black uniform.

Everyone seemed to suck in a collective breath as they stared at him.

Chase's jaw clenched. His nails dug into his palms as memories of the battle at the Nexxus lab replayed in his head. Kismet had escaped the lab with their equipment, deeming the mission a failure.

Kane and his crew had been inching closer to their goal. Previously, Atlas had no idea where to find the band of terrorists.

But there Apex was, standing amongst an audience of his enemies.

Moments later, Director Shaw emerged into the hangar with two agents at his side. A stern look was etched into his weathered features. He narrowed his icy eyes at the man standing on the other edge of the massive garage.

Apex lifted his chin.

Scoffing, Director Shaw turned to another agent. "What is the meaning of this?"

"He just...showed up," they answered, their focus still trained on the highly dangerous and unpredictable superhuman. "He was alone, though. There's no sign of Kismet anywhere."